Another
FOR LIVING
Another ‘Dogma’ emerges from Red Bank
Photographer’s book
is ‘a code of living
for dogs, by dogs’
By rachel van Kirk
Staff Writer
Like the cult film by Red Bank director Kevin Smith, another Dogma is advancing the career of a local artist.
Red Bank photographer Kim Levin and writer Erica Salmon have recently published a book with the same name.
Levin, a self-described "animal photographer," began with dogs as her main subjects but has branched out to cats, kids and, even more recently, birds.
"I started off in New York City, mostly photographing dogs, because that’s what I had access to," Levin said. "Eventually it only made sense to branch out to cats," she added.
Dempsey, of the River Plaza section of Middletown, shows humans how to “forgive and forget” in Dogma.
Levin’s newest book, Dogma, is, however, strictly "for dogs, by dogs." But the photographer won’t mind if a few humans pick it up along the way.
"Dogma is really about what dogs can teach us," Levin said. "They do these very simple basic things, like take naps and find companions, that we as humans can learn from."
Dogma pairs maxims like "Watch each other’s back," "Give gentle kisses" and "Practice patience," with portraits of dogs illustrating for humans how it’s done.
Salmon, the author of the text of the book, had the original concept for the book, Levin explained. Levin said that Salmon, at that point an unpublished author, had a copy of Levin’s first book, Why We Love Dogs, and thought that the photography would complement her own writing. Salmon e-mailed Levin, whom she had never met, telling her about the concept and asking if the photographer would be interested.
JERRY WOLKOWITZ Kim Levin, of Red Bank, sorts through some of the animal portraits she has taken. Her dog, Charlie, a border collie-greyhound mix, helps her sniff out the right one.
Levin said that, at that time, Salmon was "one of many many people" who were contacting her, asking for her collaboration on photography projects and books. But Levin said she was particularly fascinated by Salmon’s idea.
"I found the concept really intriguing," Levin said. "I have to give her a lot of credit for being really gutsy and taking the opportunity to touch base."
However, Levin said, she felt like she would have to meet Salmon in order to finally gauge whether the book was something she would want to undertake.
Salmon came out from California for Thanksgiving two years ago so that the two of them could meet, Levin said.
Hailing from Reading, Pa., Gunner happily shows readers how to “smile, even if your teeth aren’t perfect.”
The meeting was highly successful, Levin said.
"We just clicked," she said, and so Salmon’s idea, Dogma, became a reality.
Levin estimated that the two worked for the next six or seven months to put the book together. The final draft was completed by January and the book, published by Andrews McMeel, came out in September, the photographer said.
"It was fun," Levin said of her collaboration with Salmon.
Salmon has since moved to New Jersey and now lives in Lawrenceville.
Many of the dogs in Dogma, about 70 percent, are from the New Jersey and New York area, Levin said. The other dogs were ones she photographed while traveling.
Levin described her photographic technique as "very natural, often in outdoor, natural light."
"I try to bring out the natural character of the pet," she explained.
Levin said pet owners commissioning portraits from her "want pictures that show why they love the animal so much."
"They want its personality to show in the picture," she said.
"I bring out the humor in animals. I find dogs funny; I don’t bring out any stagnant qualities," Levin said of her work. "I have such a huge love of dogs. There’s something about getting down on the same level with them. I have a good rapport with animals in general, but especially with dogs."
Levin uses black-and-white photography the most because, she said, "when you strip away the color, you get a lot more texture and character in your pictures, especially with animals." In addition, she said, "there’s a timeless quality to the pictures."
In all, Levin has published nine books.
"Every book has tried to come up with creative ways to speak to the cat lover and dog lover," Levin said. "My first book is called Why We Love Dogs and was published in September of 1998. I had developed a portfolio of pictures, and I wanted to do something that showed why people love dogs the way they do."
Aside from Dogma, Levin’s most recent projects include For the Love You Give, a "stocking-stuffer" book of dog pictures. The book pairs Levin’s photographs with text by her husband, John O’Neill. For the Love You Give is also published by Andrews McMeel.
In addition to her bread-and-butter work, Levin volunteers her time and talents to the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). She photographs many of the animals needing adoption and posts their photos and description online.
She also volunteers her services to the national Ameri-can Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), providing photographs for a color calendar that the group sells and also doing the photos for a national "adopt-a-shelter-cat" poster that was distributed to 5,800 shelters across the country, she said. Levin’s own border collie-greyhound mix, Charlie, came from the ASPCA in New York.
Dogma is available at most bookstores. In addition, it is available from Levin’s Web site, www.barkandsmile.com, which also carries Levin’s other books. Levin signs all copies of Dogma ordered from her Web site at no extra charge.
Levin’s photographs are also available to send as Yahoo! e-cards. The e-cards are available at the Yahoo! Greetings Web site, http://greetings.yahoo.com.
Those interested in commissioning pet portraits can visit Levin’s Web site.